They Lied (Liar Duology #1)

Chapter 19 / Atlas

I heard grunts behind me, but I continued walking, despite the voices in my head telling me to turn around and face whatever was going on. I walked on until I reached home, an unknown command telling my brain I was not needed despite my ears telling me that Via was screaming, "Att! Atlas! Help! Help!"

I opened the door to see Brianna and Nate, as well as Khione, sitting on the sofa. To an outsider, it might have looked like a casual conversation, but I knew better. Their stiff backs and up-and-down clothing told me they were waiting. What for? I don't know.

"Atlas?" Brianna asked, looking at me, "Have you seen Olivia and the kids?"

"Cynthia Square," was all I got out before I collapsed on the sofa, unconscious.

***

"Are you sure you can't remember anything, honey? Well, let's talk basics. Your name is Mabel. No, hon. Your name is not Olivia... And that boy's name is not Atlas. It's Mayhen. He's your twin, sweetheart. No, you are not the Princess of the House of Juniper. Or the Queen. He's not your husband. You don't have kids named Sabrina and Atticus..." she laughed drily, "Honey-bun, you're sixteen."

So, basically, she was telling Olivia that everything she knew for sure was a lie. Who was she, anyway? Some spy from Malach? I had to warn Olivia...

When I gained consciousness, I heard a steady beeping beside me, and when I finally located my eye-muscles, I pulled them open to see a very familiar person besides me.

The black hair and the green eyes were unmistakable, though the hair was matted, the eyes had dark circles under them, and they were also rimmed with black in a poor attempt to cover up the fatigue.

"'Livia?" I croaked, but no sound came out. I cleared my throat, and then tried again. "Olivia?"

"Yes?" she said, her eyes focusing, and peeling away from the painting she was staring at. "How are you, Mayhen?"

I looked behind me to see if there was anyone there. Nobody. And yet, how was she calling a Mayhen? Was it... Me? "I'm Atlas, 'Liv. Not Mayhen."

She sighed. It was a long, deep, all-consuming sigh, which told me something was very wrong.

"You're Mayhen, and I'm Mabel. What happened, it was all fake, Mayhen," she said, a pained expression on her face.

What does she mean, fake? Like, was it not real? Or was it real and we're in an alternate space-time continuum?

"So, you mean..."

"My mom and dad. They're actually our cousins, Att-Mayhen. Your "sister" is actually my best friend. Everyone else, random people from our lives. First boyfriend, first betrayal, stuff like that."

Just like that, my world came crashing down, breaking into a million shards. Who did this to us? And why? I was ready to murder that person, but realised I didn't have the fire powers anymore.

"So, it's all fake? How? How did we get the same dream or whatever this is?" I asked, my head pounding as I attempted to figure things out. .

"I was insecure, Mayhen. I am a Thinking Woman, and that made me the object of a lot of bullying. You were insecure, too, but not as much as I was, because-"

"Feeling Man."

"Yes, Mayhen. You are a Feeling Man. So, anyway, our mother took us to a psychologist, and she decided to try this new simulation-thingy, but as a consequence, we have amnesia."

Okay, wait. What? I'm pretty sure I only heard the words feeling, psychologist, and simulation.

"What?" I asked, confused. I didn't believe it. It seemed too real to be all a dream. How...?

"It's okay, Atl- sorry, Mayhen. We're in this together. And, actually, I'm happy we got the experience of having kids before we actually have them, but... I feel betrayed, Mayhen. Our own mother did this to us! And, a psychologist put us through this torture. How could they do something like that?"

Firstly, how can that girl think about learning experiences when we had just been lied to and stripped of our identity?

After a while, my naturally suspicious brain began to turn it's cogs. What was going on? Then, Madame Grace's lecture on unreliable narrators came back to me, and I realised...

We have a crisis on our hands. A big one.

"What if... What if they lied?" I asked, "What if they didn't tell you the truth, Vi- Mabel?"

She made a face, and I thought she didn't believe me at first, but then she smiled shyly, her huge brain doing it's work.

"That is very possible," she mused, looking at me with a lopsided grin, "Let's get to the bottom of this."

"I'm in."

***

"Mayhen, love, this is your mother, Priscilla," the nurse introduced.

"Hi, mom," I said, the words struggling to come out. But when they did, they tasted sour on my tongue.

"I love you, darling. Never forget that," said the blonde, offering me a pressed smile as her green eyes filled with tears.

"I already did, mom. I already did."

"Mrs. Townsend, it's best if you leave now. Mayhen is in a state of duress," the nurse soothed, shooting me an unamused frown, directing her out of the room.

A few seconds later, I heard stifled sobs, which were evidently my mother's.

"My only son, Macaria. My only son. And the guy can't remember me! It's... I don't know what to say," she cried.

"He's not your only son for long, Pris," the nurse, Macaria, said.

That's when I realised my mom was pregnant while finding out two of her children had forgotten her. My Heart ached for her, and I decided I was going to set things right, once and for all.

Maybe being a dad had helped me after all. Even if it was just a few hours.